IBM Walks Through Its Software Development History

by Darryl K. Taft

IBM has gone from the rigid patterns of the waterfall methodology to the fluid, flexible world of Agile development and continuous delivery to speed up software lifecycles.

The goal is to focus on tools not rules, support communities and have centralized development services.

Diversity and complexity require teams to be more effective and adoptive. Team size matters. Small co-located teams are ideal for new projects.

Agile development, community source and componentization, and software reuse drive change. Mills said, “We are the most prolific [software] reuse company in the world.”

Outside-in development is about focusing on the business stakeholders.

Agile development is based on short iterations and frequent communication between developers. A good agile project will build something that meets customers’ needs but may be different from the original plans.

IBM said reusable, flexible components and standards lead to integrated, consistent products.

DevOps is key to development in the modern world. This software development method stresses communication, collaboration and integration between developers and IT operations professionals. IBM views it as collaboration across the entire lifecycle. IBM’s new Bluemix PaaS technology provides strong DevOps capabilities.

IBM looks at DevOps as a continuous feedback loop, with continuous planning, collaborative business development, continuous testing, and release and deployment as key functions along the way.

IBM’s Steve Mills said the development for Big Blue’s System z-based Information Management System (IMS) hierarchical database and transaction management system has gone Agile. Although IMS was initially built in the ’60s, the IBM IMS team is selectively using Agile and DevOps practices to improve the product.

IBM’s IMS development process now includes agile development processes, including sprints and methods borrowed from Scrum and other Agile/lean techniques.

Software development for IBM’s CICS mainframe-based transaction server also has gone agile. CICS, initially known as the Customer Information Control System, was also built in the 1960’s and has evolved through various development methodologies.

IBM’s Mills said DevOps lies at the heart of CICS development, with continuous integration and the checking of the project status across all roles throughout the product lifecycle—from customer to developer and so on.

Devising an alternative acronym for CICS, Mills said, “Continuous Innovation Creates Success,” noting that Agile practices enable CICS to quickly integrate customer feedback and cut release cycle times in half.

Developers must balance existing systems of record versus systems of engagement to determine the optimal mix for ongoing innovation.

The frequency and speed with which IBM turns out software depends on the type of system involved. Systems of engagement, including mobile apps, require rapid deployments. Many enterprise cloud-based systems require frequent deployments. Systems of record, such as transactional systems or packaged enterprise apps, require few deployments.

IBM’s Mills said the move from traditional waterfall development to Agile and DevOps is indeed possible for enterprise systems. However, proper steps need to be taken, including planning and adopting proper tools.